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June 22nd, 2010:

Oil Spills in Nigeria

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

“Half a World From the Gulf, a Spill Scourge 5 Decades Old” (front page, June 17), reporting that spills are a major problem in the Niger Delta, misses crucial context that explains why they happen.

You make a comparison between the Exxon Valdez spill and Nigeria. The two are completely different. The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria is the largest oil producer in the Niger Delta. In terms of volume, spills due to human error or equipment failure from its facilities over the last 10 years amounted to about 5 percent of the Exxon Valdez spill volume annually. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Well design may be hampering spill efforts

Chron.com

Deepwater Horizon

Reduction in thickness of casing raises concern about well’s integrity

By TOM FOWLER and ERIC NALDER
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

June 21, 2010, 10:59PM

Kari Gooodnough Bloomberg: Seaweed covered in oil from the Macondo well sits on a public beach in Gulf Shores, Ala., earlier this month.

Money-saving measures BP took while designing the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico appear to have dogged efforts to bring the massive oil spill under control.

Documents released by congressional investigators show that modifications to the well design BP made last year included a reduction in the thickness of a section of the casing — steel piping in the wellbore read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

East Timor Proposes $3.8 Billion Gas Hub on its Soil

Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer and its partners, including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, have opted to rely on floating liquefied natural gas technology for the development, saying that it will deliver the most revenue to both Australia and East Timor. The government of East Timor objects to any plan that doesn’t include a gas processing plant in the country.

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell Tarred by Gulf Spill Pays Up in Bond Sale: Credit Markets

BusinessWeek Logo

By Tim Catts and John Detrixhe

June 22 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc was penalized by the bond market in a $2.75 billion debt offering and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. notes tumbled on concern the worst oil spill in U.S. history will depress profits across the industry.

Investors demanded an extra 110 basis points in yield over U.S. Treasuries to buy the five-year notes from Shell, compared with 89 basis points for existing debt of similar maturity from the company, which is based in The Hague. Debt of Anadarko, owner of a 25 percent stake in BP Plc’s leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, fell the most since June 9. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell and PIB: blackmail is the game

As the oil industry across the globe focused on the Gulf of Mexico and the remediation efforts mounted to contain the massive spill caused by the explosion of BP’s oil rig on April 20, Shell, Nigeria’s Anglo-Dutch oil operator, was back on the campaign trail to get the federal government either to water down or back off from going ahead with the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently before the National Assembly.

To demonstrate its crass insensitivity, it “dangled” a $40 billion investment carrot which its Nigerian Managing Director Mutiu Sunmonu claims stands imperilled in the event of the PIB sailing through. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Chevron and Shell facing hefty fines for price fixing in South Africa

BusinessWeek Logo

The Associated Press  June 21, 2010, 1:57PM ET

SAfrican watchdog fines oil firms on price-fixing

JOHANNESBURG

South Africa’s anti-competition watchdog says that a number of international oil giants, including Chevron and Shell, are facing hefty fines for price collusion, a punishable offense in South Africa.

South Africa’s Competition Tribunal, which investigates companies’ competition conduct, said Monday that between 2000 and 2009 oil companies Chevron, Shell, Engen, Total, Masana, Sasol and Tosas colluded in fixing their products’ prices. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Oil firms challenge U.S. deepwater drilling ban

REUTERS

Mary Rickard and Ernest Scheyder NEW ORLEANS/LAFITTE

Mon Jun 21, 2010 6:17pm ED

Louisiana (Reuters) – Oil services companies went to court on Monday seeking to overturn President Barack Obama’s six-month ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico after the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman said he would decide by Wednesday whether to temporarily lift the ban while the case is heard. More than a dozen companies involved in offshore drilling operations filed the lawsuit, calling the ban “arbitrary and capricious.” read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.